Letters from John Q. Adams, 60th Illinois Infantry, to his wife Kate

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Tuscumbia, Alabama

August the 24th 1862

Dearest and Ever Beloved Kate,

I am well and hearty and now take time to drop you a few lines as we are under marching orders and will leave in a day or two by the time this reaches you we are going on south we may stop a while at Decatur and may go on to Huntsville one of the places we will go and then we will have to go to Chatanooga and take it we are done lying in camp for this winter we will be kept in the field all the time now and I expect to see some fighting before another month rolls over my head  I hope the officers will push the thing through now and let us go home if we have to fight let us do it and all that escapes can go home I hope you are well by this time I have you letters from home you left nor from Dike and I have wrote to all of them have you got my letters yet you have not sent me DAnns[?] likeness yet I have wrote to Clark today we have got us some darkie cooks and we live like kings I have nothing new to write to you so you must not grumble at my short letters for I have nothing to write but what I have wrote two or three times before so you know I am well as able I can write until I go to another place I expect to have a Battle to describe to you before long You must not be uneasy about me for I will take as good care of myself as I can I want you to write often for I am anxious to hear that you are well Direct as usual and don�t forget your Absent Prince

J.Q. Adams

To his loving Kate